Chapter 8 of the Tao Te Ching - The Highest Good

I visited a former co-worker in the city. As I sat waiting for him I watched the people as they moved frantically from one location to another. They would leave their high rise apartment buildings in a rush to get to work or school. There was so much tension that when they would get in each other’s way they ended up rude to each other. The longer I sat in the café witnessing all these things the more I could feel the tension building inside myself. I longed to get back to my home where all is quiet and peaceful.

When my friend arrived I could see that he was as uptight as all the others.

“You look haggard, my friend,” I said to him.

“You have no idea,” he said. “Life is turning into a living hell.”

“That can happen when you live there,” I told him.

“Live where?”

“In Hell.”

He laughed. “I am not used to jokes these days, I am afraid.”

“I didn’t realize I was telling one.”

He took a breath and looked into my eyes. “You are always so calm, so peaceful,” he said. “How do you do it?”

“I try to see the good in all things.”

“You won’t see much good around this place,” he said.

I wanted to agree with him as I watched a couple of people yelling at each other across the street. “Oh, it is here,” I said, “you just have to know where to look.”

He looked around as if trying to find it in the darkened corners of the room.

“The highest good,” I told him, “is like water. Water gives life to all things, but does not suffer itself in doing so. It flows into all of the places that men ignore or reject. In this way, it is very much like the Tao.”

“But where do you find that?” he asked. “How can I find good when all around me is hatred, violence and evil?”

“I will give you a list. Follow these things and you will always find good, no matter where you are.”

I asked him for a pen and I wrote the following on napkin.

• In dwelling, be close to the land.
• In meditation, go deep in the heart.
• In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.
• In speech, be true.
• In ruling, be just.
• In daily life, be competent.
• In action, be aware of the time and the season.

I handed it to him and let him read it.

“But this seems so simple,” he said.

“It is,” I answered. “All things that are of the Tao are simple.”

He looked at the list again and smiled. “Sometimes,” he said, “we just need little reminders to keep us going.”

“One more thing,” I told him.

“Yes?”

“Living in a place like this it becomes more important that you avoid fighting at all cost.”

“Oh, I don’t fight,” he said. “I abhor violence.”

“Not all fighting is physical,” I said.

I waited for that to register in his thoughts. “As you go about your day,” I said, “and things start going against you, do not look for things or people to blame. Placing blame keeps you from facing the responsibility of getting your own life in order.”

“But what if everything goes my way and I have a wonderful day today?”

“Well, for that,” I said with a wink, “you can blame me.”

I like to see my friends smile. It makes my day go so much better.